SilvaGuide 2.0 Compass

Good compass, works as it should. Folds compact saving space , be careful not to crush.Do not hold any metal in your hands such as watches, knives, CELLPHONES which can throw off your needle. ;)

I was worried that the smaller size would make it tougher to use, but not at all. Peep/mirror combo make it easy to take bearings, and the clear base even makes it useable on a map. The fact that is has a real hinge instead of those "living hinge" creased plastic things was why I chose Silva over a comparable Suunto, and I don't regret the decision.

When I received my compass it had no luminous properties what so ever. The Amazon listing said the markings would glow for up to 4 hours after being in a light source. It doesn't glow at all for any amount of time even after being under a 60 w light bulb. In the sellers defense the packaging said it would glow as they listed. I really wanted this feature so I returned the item thinking it was defective. The next compass was the same. No glow. I contacted the seller asking what I needed to do to get one that glows. He said the compasses they had didn't glow, that a different model which was pricier did which I could get and that I should take things up with the manufacturer (Silva). Im not exchanging it though because it is a nice compass for the price despite the issue I mentioned.

Nothing flashy, nothing special. It points north with a good scale and has a decent mirror. Some cheaper ones can do the same thing, but they aren't nearly as reliable. Can't remember the last time I went marching through the woods a night without a headlamp. Glow is overrated. Never had a Silva break, and I have tried. Well, there was one time when a Ranger collided with an axe.

I purchased this Silva Guide 2.0 Compass to use while backpacking. This compass makes orientating a map to the terrain quite easy, which is why I purchased this model. It is fairly durable and unlike GPS uses no batteries, just a functioning brain and a map, which all people exploring the the outdoors should employ.